Blake Stephenson MP: written questions 2025
1235 published records · newest first.
Written questions
Hospices: ChildrenDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 73774More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of his Department's funding for children’s hospices.
Answer: Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. ICBs are responsible for the commissioning of palliative care and end of life care services, including from children’s hospices, to meet the need...
Answered 11 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNeurological Diseases: Mid BedfordshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 73773More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he plans to take to improve access to NHS Continuing Healthcare for people with (a) Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and (b) Corticobasal Degeneration in Mid-Bedforshire constituency.
Answer: Our national statutory guidance, the National framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care, outlines that access to NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) assessment, care provision, and support should be fair, consistent, and free from di...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCommunity Nurses: DementiaDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 73772More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether access to dementia specialist nurses will be available through his Department's planned Neighbourhood Health Services.
Answer: The Neighbourhood Health Service will bring together teams of professionals closer to people’s homes to work together to provide comprehensive care in the community. We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a way that reflects the spec...
Answered 10 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: SoftwareDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 73771More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Managing healthcare easy as online banking with revamped NHS App, published on 3 July 2025, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that people wh
Answer: We are working to improve access to digital services, outcomes, and experiences for the widest range of people, based on their preferences. Digital health tools should be part of a wider offering that includes face-to-face support, with appropriate help f...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordCommunity Care: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 1 Sept 2025AnsweredUIN 73770More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled PM launches new era for NHS with easier care in neighbourhoods, published on 2 July 2025, how his Department plans to define neighbourhoods in rural are
Answer: The Neighbourhood Health Service will mean millions of patients, including those in rural constituencies, are treated and cared for closer to their home by new teams of health professionals.We expect neighbourhood teams and services to be designed in a wa...
Answered 11 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordTransport: Capital InvestmentDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73491More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Audit Office's report entitled Lessons learned: Governance and decision-making on mega-projects, published on 12 March 2025, whether her Department plans to implement the recommen
Answer: The Department for Transport has an established rolling programme to continuously improve project delivery, drawing on lessons learned from its own portfolio and external reviews, including those published by the NAO. Our project delivery governance and a...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordRailways: EmploymentDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73490More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the press release Full steam ahead: young people take the drivers seat to improve train services and unlock jobs of 7 May 2025, if she will publish an evaluation of the impact of this policy w
Answer: The rail industry will be responsible for implementing the policy of lowering the minimum age requirement to be a train driver from 20 to 18, which will be enacted through changes to the Train Driving Licences and Certificates Regulations 2010. To ensure ...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordBuses: Carbon EmissionsDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73489More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she plans to extend the Zero Emission Vehicle mandate to coaches.
Answer: The Department ran calls for evidence on the decarbonisation of coaches in spring 2022 and on zero emission HGV and coach infrastructure in autumn 2023. We will provide an update on coach decarbonisation in due course.
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: SalesDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73488More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to defer the ban on the sale of new (a) petrol and (b) diesel vehicles indefinitely; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of such a deferment on the price of
Answer: The Government has provided crucial certainty to British industry by re-instating the 2030 phase-out date for new cars relying solely on internal combustion engines. We are committing £4.5 billion to support the public and our automakers on the journey to...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordMotor Vehicles: SalesDepartment for TransportTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73487More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make it her policy to defer the ban on the sale of new (a) petrol and (b) diesel vehicles indefinitely; and whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of such a deferment on UK-based
Answer: The Government has provided crucial certainty to British industry by re-instating the 2030 phase-out date for new cars relying solely on internal combustion engines. We are committing £4.5 billion to support the public and our automakers on the journey to...
Answered 4 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: ReorganisationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73486More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to page 82 of the NHS Ten Year Plan, whether ICBs undergoing re-organisation will be further re-organised if their boundaries are not coterminous with new strategic authorities.
Answer: To deliver a reduction in running costs, a number of integrated care boards (ICBs) will cluster together to share leadership and functions. Clustering ICBs remain legally separate organisations with their own financial allocations. It will mean that durin...
Answered 22 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: Artificial IntelligenceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73485More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled World-first AI system to warn of NHS patient safety concerns of 30 June 2025, whether this will (a) augment and (b) replace human oversight.
Answer: The 10-Year Health Plan will bring our analogue health service into the digital age. It will make artificial intelligence (AI) every nurse’s and doctor’s trusted assistant, saving them time and supporting them in decision making.The Plan also focuses on s...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: EqualityDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73484More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Landmark plan to rebuild NHS in working-class communities of 25 June 2025, what definition his Department plans to use for working-class communities.
Answer: The 10-Year Health Plan has set out a long-term vision to reform the National Health Service and make it fit for the future. Addressing healthcare inequity is a core focus of the 10-Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it when...
Answered 8 Oct 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: PakistanDepartment for Business and TradeTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73483More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the press release entitled UK partnership brings new 250-bed Islamabad hospital closer to opening of 24 June 2025, if he will make an estimate of the net impact on the public purse.
Answer: While the specific contract value is commercially sensitive, all income generated supports NHS initiatives and trust improvements. Income generated through this International Affiliate Programme is reinvested into the Trust, supporting a range of initiati...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: FinanceDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73482More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the amount of upfront funding allocated to ICBs in areas of expected high population growth.
Answer: NHS England is responsible for funding allocations to integrated care boards, to pay for the services they commission. This process is independent of the Government, and NHS England takes advice on the underlying formula from the independent Advisory Comm...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordResident Doctors: StrikesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73480More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of resident doctor strikes on NHS waiting lists.
Answer: Industrial action has a significant direct and indirect impact on elective performance and NHS waiting lists.Within the period of industrial action from December 2022 up to February 2024, 430,000 completed pathways (where a patient starts consultant-led t...
Answered 12 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordResident Doctors: StrikesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73479More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department has taken to prepare for resident doctor strikes since July 2024.
Answer: The National Health Service makes every effort through rigorous contingency planning to minimise disruption as a result of industrial action and its impact on patients and the public.Resident doctors in England went on strike for five days from Friday 25 ...
Answered 16 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHospitals: BedfordshireDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73478More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled Patients and pupils to benefit from school and hospital repairs, published on 30 May 2025, whether any hospitals in Bedfordshire will be included.
Answer: The £750 million Estates Safety Fund announced in the press release entitled ‘Patients and pupils to benefit from school and hospital repairs’ is part of the overall 2025/26 capital allocation announced by the Chancellor at the Autumn Budget in 2024.Bedfo...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: East of EnglandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73477More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS England consulted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government before proposing to merge Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside NHS England, continue to work closely on any proposals to reorganise integrated care boards (ICBs). I and my hon. Friend, the Minister of Sta...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: ReorganisationDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73476More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed re-organisation of ICBs, in the context of English Devolution.
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside NHS England, continue to work closely on any proposals to reorganise integrated care boards (ICBs). I and my hon. Friend, the Minister of Sta...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordIntegrated Care Boards: East of EnglandDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73475More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government on the proposed re-organisation of ICBs in the East of England.
Answer: The Department of Health and Social Care and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, alongside NHS England, continue to work closely on any proposals to reorganise integrated care boards (ICBs). I and my hon. Friend, the Minister of Sta...
Answered 9 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordGeneral Practitioners: Rural AreasDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73474More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department has made an assessment on the potential impact of the planned re-organisation of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes ICB with Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire and Peterborou
Answer: As part of cluster preparation arrangements, every integrated care board (ICB) will complete an Equality Impact Assessment, which will consider the footprint population and the impact of the changes to ICB working arrangements.ICBs have a crucial role as ...
Answered 11 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: ApprenticesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73473More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of reducing funding for Level 7 Apprenticeships on the NHS and Social Care workforce plan.
Answer: While funding arrangements for Level 7 apprenticeships are changing, we recognise the important role apprenticeships play in the training and development of the NHS and social care workforce. This Government is committed to developing homegrown talent and...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordHealth Services: ApprenticesDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73472More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of NHS employees employed on a Level 7 Apprenticeship in each of the last five years.
Answer: The Department does not hold the information requested.
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament recordNHS: Pay SettlementsDepartment of Health and Social CareTabled 29 Aug 2025AnsweredUIN 73471More
Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press release entitled NHS workers awarded real terms pay rises for second year in row, published on 22 May 2025, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the public purse.
Answer: Last year’s pay awards for National Health Service staff were among the biggest across the public sector. This year, we have announced above inflation, fully funded pay increases across all staff groups for a second year in a row. These thoroughly deserve...
Answered 8 Sept 2025
Original Parliament record
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